Department News

The day the Herculaneum scrolls began speaking again

Lindsey Piercy

Jun 25, 2026

The Vesuvius Challenge, co-founded by Brent Seales, professor of computer science, has achieved a historic breakthrough in the recovery of the Herculaneum scrolls — revealing new texts, titles and authors unknown to history and ushering in a new era for the study of the ancient world. At the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli Vittorio Emanuele III — with Mount Vesuvius rising in the distance — lead researchers, collaborators and distinguished guests gathered to mark the milestone decades in the making.

The Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award recognizes two EduceLab faculty members

Jun 9, 2026

Hugo Reyes-Centeno, PhD, and Seth Parker, PhD, were nominated for the 19th annual Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award this year.

TEK Faculty Fellow Renee Bonzani Presents Interdisciplinary Foodways Research at the 8th Annual Food Summit

May 28, 2026

TEK Faculty Fellow, Renee Bonzani, recently presented innovative interdisciplinary research at the 8th Annual Food Summit, showcasing how traditional ecological knowledge, anthropology, and advanced scientific analysis can work together to better understand food systems and cultural heritage.

UK faculty awarded by Schmidt Sciences to bring AI to humanities research

Jenny Wells-Hosley

Dec 17, 2025

Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11 million for up to 23 teams of researchers around the world to develop and apply artificial intelligence to archaeology, history, literature and other humanities disciplines, seeking to unlock new understandings of human history and culture, the organization announced today.

Seales to present in NSF CISE Distinguished Lecture Series September 11, 11:00AM-12:30PM

Aug 20, 2025

Dr. W. Brent Seales, Stanley and Karen Pigman Chair of Heritage Science and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Kentucky will be presenting "On Perseverance: Virtually Unwrapping the Herculaneum Scrolls" in the Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate (CISE) Distinguished Lecture Series.

UK’s Brent Seales, global team secures Europe’s top research grant to digitally decode Herculaneum scrolls

Lindsey Piercy

Jul 28, 2025

Brent Seales, heritage science chair in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant as part of an international team seeking to unlock the secrets of the Herculaneum scrolls.

Seales honored with UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement

Robby Hardesty

May 7, 2025

University of Kentucky Libraries has honored W. Brent Seales, Ph.D., the Stanley and Karen Pigman Chair of Heritage Science and Professor of Computer Science, as the 2025 recipient of the UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement.

EduceLab unveiled as UK’s gateway to next-generation heritage science

Lindsey Piercy

Apr 29, 2025

Made possible by a $14 million infrastructure grant from the National Science Foundation, EduceLab is the university’s bold vision for next-generation heritage science. The lab was unveiled during a “soft opening” last week — launching a new era of discovery, education and innovation at the intersection of the humanities, engineering and data science.

Bridging past and future: UK’s Brent Seales to lead national AI-humanities initiative at Schmidt Sciences

Jan 16, 2025

Brent Seales, Ph.D,  a computer science professor in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been selected to lead a new national program that supports research at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the humanities.

Vesuvius Challenge grand prize winners announced

Feb 5, 2024

The Vesuvius Challenge has announced the grand prize winners of its global AI contest to virtually unwrap a still-rolled carbonized papyrus scroll from the ancient city of Herculaneum. The virtual unwrapping software utilized in the contest was developed by Pigman Endowed Professor of Heritage Science Brent Seales.